EXPLAINED: Spain's clampdown on child YouTubers and parent influencers
In the current digital times we're living in, there are thousands of kids appearing in social media videos, either because their parents are influencers and like to document their lives online, or because the children themselves have social media accounts they post on.
Studies show that in Spain there are children under 15 years old with more than nine million followers on their YouTube, TikTok or Instagram accounts and many of them started on social networks when they were just five years old.
As the digital world grows it is becoming more and more difficult to regulate, but Spain's plan is to aim to introduce more restrictions to protect minors.
In an interview with news site 20minutos, Minister of Youth and Children Sira Rego said: "There are many unprotected children, sometimes because families are not aware of the magnitude of the effect that uploading photos of our children to social networks has'. She also expressed her concern about the "monetisation of the image of childhood'.
According to lawyer Ana Caballero, who specialises in technology and chaired a group of experts appointed by the government to help solve the situation, when a minor is used on a social media video, it gains 42 percent more likes than if there are only adults.
This is attractive to influencer parents who want to show their children even more. But, according to the expert group, this can consequences for the child who at some point will be an adult and will have their entire life exposed on the internet without them being able to do anything about it.
The Spanish government's aim is to put a stop to this so-called 'sharenting', when influencer parents put videos and images of their children online in order to gain money from them.
While exact details of the draft haven't been released yet, Spain's Ministry of Labour is also planning a reform to regulate the professional work of minors in artistic activities, such as social media. It will mean that children will be employed and have "specific guarantees" in terms of protection.
According to sources from the department led by Yolanda Díaz, the new regulations will be added the Workers' Statute and limit the schedule and times minors can 'work' on social media platforms. It will also "guarantee compatibility" with their social and educational life, meaning anyone under 16 years of age will only be able to 'work' when they do not have class, during vacation periods or on weekends.
The objective is to prevent child exploitation in the digital environment by some families who end up receiving significant income from their posts.
It also means that any money derived from videos of their children must be deposited into a financial institution, in charge of managing that money until the child reaches 18.
According to a Harris Poll/LEGO survey, today more children want to be YouTubers than astronauts. Another investigation by the Reina Sofía Center on Adolescence and Youth of the FAD Foundation revealed that one in three young people between 15 and 29 years old would like to make a career online and one in ten is already trying to make it happen.
Other countries have already tried to protect minors more online. Australia has introduced a world-first social media ban for under 16-year olds, while France, has a approved a law to protect child influencers and regulate the hours that those under 16 years of age work.
Back in April 2024, Spain also introduced its first initiative to regulate the activity of influencers. It means that content creators with income of more than €300,000 per year must follow new restrictions long as they have more than one million followers on a single platform.
Spain also has another law under way - the 'Protection of Minors Law', which must still be approved by Council of Ministers and the Congress of Deputies which includes measures such as virtual restraining orders, a reform of the Penal Code to punish deep fakes and grooming, and health tests to detect online addictions.
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